Edinburgh food and agri-tech company Roslin Technologies has announced it has raised £11m in Series A investment.
The successful funding round, led by Novo Holdings, will allow it to continue its mission to become the leading provider of animal cell lines to the cultivated meat sector.
Founded in 2017 as a venture between two investment firms and the University of Edinburgh, the company was also supported by the University’s in-house venture capital fund, Old College Capital.
Roslin Tech has developed pluripotent animal stem cells with the capacity to self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into desired end-tissues for meat. Roslin Tech is making these cells available to cultivated meat producers globally. Currently the company has customers in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The new funding will allow the company to expand its cell line portfolio and to further develop the protocols for scale up of its cells into cost competitive cell biomass for meat production. It will do so jointly with its customers, development collaborators and the University of Edinburgh, with which Roslin Tech has a privileged relationship.
It will also invest in its insect venture which focuses on breeding better insects for the emerging insect protein sector, a promising regenerative agricultural technique.
Ernst van Orsouw, CEO of Roslin Tech said:
We are excited to welcome Novo Holdings and other investors on our journey to improve the food system. With the investment and strategic support, we can accelerate the develop of better cells for the sector and focus on making our customers successful. ”
Catherine Martin, Vice Principal of Corporate Services at the University of Edinburgh said:
We are delighted to welcome Novo Holdings as partner and look forward to jointly supporting Roslin Technologies. The scale of this new investment and the calibre of its source is a great testament to the expertise and experience of the Roslin Technologies team and a great indicator of likely future success. "
